LLTO La Liga Matches of the Week (JAN 2-3)

Barcelona looks to keep up the pace of a first place squad this weekend in a tough test against Villareal. The Yellow Submarines really had a slow start to the season and for awhile there it looked like the squad might not be able to avoid the relegation zone, but good clubs rise to the top and Villareal has done exactly that over the last few months. This week, though, the club may fall out of the top ten because they have one of the toughest assignments in the entire world. They will have to beat Barca at home. This is the same team that lost to Xerez. Even though they are playing much better I will never bet against Barca at home.

Athletico Madrid only has five other teams that they are ahead of on the league table and that spells trouble for the regular top five club. Pretty soon some of these stars (Aguero for example) might bolt for the door when given the transfer chance and every home game will get even tougher once that happens. And this weekend they get the bad luck of playing a top four Sevilla team. Fabiano is still lingering with that ankle injury, but Sevilla is always a tough team to bet against. They play some of the toughest La Liga defense and this weekend they play against a very inconsistent defensive squad. That spells trouble for the home club.